Native Grasses & Groundcovers

Knobby club-rush — Ficinia nodosa

Ficinia nodosa

Shelter for wildlife Resilient garden plant

$6.00

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In stock and available to order

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Plant profile

At a glance

The essentials for finding the right garden position.

Mature size: Height: 0.5–1.5 m · Width: 0.6–2 m
Light: Full sun, Part shade
Water: Dry, Moist, Seasonally wet
Soil: Sandy, Loamy
Drainage: Well-drained • Moderately drained
Vegetation type: Coastal, Wetlands / Swamps / Creek Margins
Plant lifespan: Long-lived perennial
Plant form: Grasses & Groundcovers

Plant ratings

A quick guide to this plant’s value for wildlife and the garden.

Bird food value
Pollinator value
Shelter & habitat value
Flower display
Garden resilience

About this plant

A tough, architectural native sedge with upright cylindrical stems and distinctive rounded brown flower heads held just below the stem tips. It is especially useful in coastal gardens, dunes and wet or saline sites where many conventional plants struggle.

Image credits:
Mature image: Christopher Stephens via iNaturalist — CC BY-SA 4.0
Feature image: Nicola van Berkel via iNaturalist — CC BY-SA 4.0

More plant details

Garden uses: Coastal garden, dune stabilisation, salt-tolerant planting, wetland edge, swale, feature clump and revegetation.
Wildlife value: Not primarily a bird-food plant, though dense clumps can provide cover and foraging structure. Wind-pollinated and offers little direct nectar or pollen to animal pollinators. Dense stems provide useful refuge for small animals and structure in exposed coastal and wetland plantings.
Flowering and fruiting: Rounded brown flower heads form just below the pointed stem tips, mainly through the warmer months, with old heads often persisting.
Growth habit: Rhizomatous perennial sedge forming upright clumps; indicative mature size 0.5–1.5 m × 0.6–2 m.
Cautions: Can spread by rhizomes in favourable sites; allow space for a broad clump.